The Center of the World

"This is an excellent, engagingly written overview of the political and commercial history of a crucial waterway mostly known for the vagaries of the oil that has flowed through it in modern times. "-R. P. Matthee, University of Delaware, in Choice. "Remarkably accessible, this book offers an authoritative history of the Gulf, boldly linking the region to the wider currents of global history. "-Dale F. Eickelman, author of The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach. "Simply compelling. Allen Fromherz does for the Gulf what Braudel did for the Mediterranean. "-G. R. Garthwaite, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies and Professor Emeritus of History at Dartmouth College "The best historical interpretation of the gulf geography. A must read for anyone with an interest in the Middle East, Persia, and economic history. " -Ansgar Baums, Senior Fellow, Stimson Center